My Other Half
by dede94e
Summary: Robin and Regina are finally together. Zelena's been defeated and nobody is standing on their way. But a new obstacle to their happiness is right around the corner. Will they be able to win this too? (set up from 3x21)


Hey everybody.

This is gonna be my version of OutlawQueen storyline from 3x21 onwards. Before you start reading it, I'd like to specify that in this story Zelena is **NOT** coming back like she did during season 4.

I don't force anybody to read my story. If you don't like my ideas, my writing, my wording or the decisions I'm gonna make, please, just forget about it. Don't criticize or offend me, writing is just a hobby. Thank you!

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 **Chapter 1**

Another threat stopped. Another villain defeated.

Despite every expectation, Regina found a way to defeat her wicked sister with light magic. Light magic, something Regina didn't know to have. The evil and terrible Queen of the Enchanted Forest, after years and years of terror and murder, became the hero. Or at least, for one day. Regina didn't believe she was capable of defeating Zelena but, with hope and love in her heart, she did that and more. She gave her sister a second chance, a way to redeem herself for all the bad things she's done. Regina really believed Zelena could change and be a better person. If Regina was capable of such a thing, after what she did to get her revenge and kill Snow White, than so her sister.

 _Evil isn't born, it's made._

Zelena decided otherwise. Instead of trying to be a better person, she ended her life. The footage of the surveillance cameras at the police department was clear. Zelena had enough magic left to kill herself in that small cell. Regina was hoping to have a chance with her sister and, eventually, to become a family.

Something more important caught everyone's attention though. Zelena's pendant opened the portal to go back in time, despite the fact that she was dead. They decided to stay away from it, until they would've figured out a way to close it. As Mr. Gold said: _a trip to the past could have catastrophic repercussions._

For once, luck was on their side. The time portal closed itself few hours later. With Zelena dead, there wasn't enough magic to keep the portal open any longer. Or at least, that's what Regina thought - there wasn't another explanation. Regina had no idea how to control it and, from the look on his face, neither did Mr. Gold.

When they all left the police station, Robin suggested to spend some time with Roland before to join the rest of their family at Granny's. Regina gladly accepted it.

'Can I get some ice cream, please?' Roland asks walking between his father and Regina.

'Don't you think it's too late for ice cream?'

'Daddy, please.'

Regina notices the hesitation on Robin's face. 'I think it's never too late for some ice cream.' She says winking to Robin.

'Okay, fine. I can't win against you two.' Robin smiles before to give his son the permission. Roland walks inside the shop and buys a chocolate ice cream, as Regina and Robin are waiting for him outside. 'Are you alright?'

'Yes.' Regina lies, turning to him. From the look on his face she knows he didn't buy it. It's nearly impossible for her hiding something from him. 'I.. I was just thinking of what Zelena did.'

'It's not your fault, Regina. You gave her a second chance.'

'And she didn't take it. Maybe I could've done.. or said.. something different to change her mind.' The woman tried to literally kill her, by erasing her existence. She hurt her family and friends but, after all, she was her sister. Blood of her blood.

'You did everything you could. Sometimes, people are not meant to be saved.' Robin says rubbing his thumb on Regina hand, comforting her. Regina nods her head, trying to push away all the bad thoughts and enjoy this moment of happiness.

Roland walks out of the shop, eating his chocolate ice cream with a big smile on his face. 'Regina..' He says as Regina lowers her face to look at him. 'Can I hold your hand?'

'Of course you can, Roland.' She says leaving Robin's hand to hold Roland's. Regina feels her heart melting for all that sweetness. She's not used to all of that, it was different with Henry. She's raised him and, even if not biologically, he is her son. She would sacrifice everything she has, even her life, to protect him. But Roland is taking her by surprise. Despite what happened since she met him in the Enchanted Forest an year before, he barely knew her. It wouldn't be such a surprise if he still considers her a stranger, but apparently he doesn't.

Regina meets Robin's glance few times. A bright smile is shining up her beautiful face since Roland asked to hold her hand. A real smile of happiness. Every once in a while Roland raises his head to look at both of them before to focus again on his ice cream. None of them say anything, there's no need to. The moment is precious enough for Regina that she's trying to memorize every single detail of it.

 _Maybe things work out when they are supposed to. Maybe it's all about timing._

In front of Granny's Diner, Roland leaves Regina's hand to run fast toward the diner and walk in. Regina doesn't take her eyes off that little boy until Robin catches her attention by taking her hand.

'Wait..' Robin whispers, stopping her from walking towards the diner. Regina looks worried at him. 'I need to talk to you.'

'Robin?' She even more worried now as he takes her other hand too. 'You're scaring me.'

'We followed two different paths. You've lived your life and I've lived mine but we're here now. And I want to start a new path.. together, this time.' Robin rubs his thumbs against her skin.

Regina's eyes are slowly filling up with tears. She has no idea of what's going on but, listening to Robin saying those words, her heart beats faster. She's hardly fighting back the tears. 'Robin..' Her voice is broken.

'Despite the fact that we have our memories back and we remember what happened in the past year..' Robin proudly grins, 'I'm well aware that there's a lot we don't know about each other. But, after what you told me this morning about Tinkerbell, everything looks so clear to me. We are meant for each other.'

'Do..' A tear drops down, tracing Regina's reddened cheek. 'Do you really think that?

'I do..' Robin whispers, taking a little step closer. 'Regina, look. I think there's a reason why we didn't meet outside the tavern that night. Maybe it wasn't the right moment, or maybe we still needed to learn something. I don't know, but I'm sure about my feelings for you.'

'What..'

'I know that you don't think you're worth it, because of your past and for what you've done but that's not the truth.' He says raising his left hand to cup her cheek. 'You've become a whole new person. When I look at you, I don't see a villain or the Evil Queen, I see a hero.'

It's getting harder and harder for Regina to fight back the tears. She takes deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. Her right hand is shaking and there's nothing she can do to stop it. Nobody ever talked to her that way, except Daniel. But Robin's words have a different and deeper meaning to her. Robin knows how she's used to be, the awful things she's done, and yet he's still see the good in her.

'You've made your mistakes and I made mine but, without them, we wouldn't be here tonight.' Robin says lowering his hand and takes something from the pocket of his jacket. 'I wouldn't stand in front of the most beautiful woman I've ever met, telling her how much I'm in love with her.'

'Y – you're.. saying..' Few tears uncontrollably fall down her face.

'I'm saying.. that I love you, Regina Mills.' Robin lowers on his knee, showing her a beautiful ring. 'Destiny, timing, and even your sister tried to divide us, but our hearts always found each other. Pixie dust lead you to me and, after Roland, you're the best thing that ever happened to me.' Robin smiles brightly as Regina is looking down at him. 'So.. would you give this thief the honor to marry him?'

Regina swallows loudly between the sobs. The tears start rolling down her burning cheeks, hitting the ground, one by one. 'Robin..' Regina barely says. She can feel her heart beating faster and louder inside her chest. Looking at him, on his knee right in front of her, is something she never expected to see. Actually, she never expected to see any man like that. After she lost Daniel, Regina built up a wall around her heart, because she never wanted to feel that pain all over again. But Robin found his way to reach her heart and, by taking away one brick at the time, he brought the light into her life. And with this proposal, somehow, Robin entirely tore down that wall.

'So?' He says looking straight into her eyes.

'Yes..' Regina says impulsively as soon as she realizes that Robin was still waiting for an answer. 'Yes, Robin.. I'll marry you.' A bright smile appears on her face as she raises her right hand and wipes away the tears from her cheeks. Robin raises Regina's left hand and gently put that simple but beautiful ring on her finger.

Robin stands on his feet and wraps his arms around her waist. Pulling her closer, he passionately kisses her. Regina's hands are firmly around his neck, feeling the pulse of his heart against her fingers. They watch each other for a minute until Robin deepens the kiss, opening her mouth with little nudges and reaches in to touch her tongue with his very tenderly. Regina lets out a little moan, closing her eyes allowing herself to feel all of it. Without breaking the kiss, Robin lifts her up by her hips, spinning around. Regina holds herself on his shoulders, smiling spontaneously. Their tongues continue to touch and explore, awakening other feelings insides them that make their breathing intensify.

When Robin stops spinning, he gently puts her down. As the kiss ends, Regina lets out a heavy sight, slowly opening her eyes to look at him. Those beautiful blue sea eyes are looking at her like never before. Full of love and passion. Lowering his head, Robin holds her hands tight.

'I know this is not the right ring for a Queen like you…' He says meeting her glance again. 'I could've stolen something better, you know I could've but.. I wanted to give you something special.'

Regina looks at the ring. The small white zircon perfectly shines up her thin finger. Its simplicity is astonishing. 'Robin, it's..' She says rubbing her thumb on the back of his hand, 'It's perfect.' A new smile appears on her face, as she wonders if he really proposed to her and she said yes.

'I'll do my best to be the man you deserve. After everything you've been through, you deserve to be happy.' Robin gets closer and whispers: 'I love you, Milady' before to kiss her again. Their lips meet, sparking an internal firework display. His soft exquisite lips are pressed gently against hers. His kiss holds the exact right balance between tenderness and a kind of passionate urgency.

Regina wants to tell him how she feels, that she's in love with him as well but, when the kiss ends, she stares at him in silence. The last time she said those three words out loud to a man was to Daniel, in Storybrooke. After all those years, she was still in love with him like the first day but she had no choice but to kill him. He wasn't the Daniel she remembered. He wasn't _her_ Daniel. And now, standing in front of Robin, she's just scared to say it.

They look into each other's eyes for an endless moment, without saying anything. Just smiling. The world around them completely disappears. Standing only few inches from him, Regina can feel his warm breath against her burning lips. She wants to kiss him again and again. Being wrapped in his arms is the best feeling she ever experienced. It's her safe place, her little heaven on Earth.

'Daddy!' Roland's unmistakable voice breaks the silence as he walks fast outside the diner. Both Robin and Regina turn to look at him. 'Daddy! Mommy is back!'

The blood freezes inside Regina's veins. She hopes with all her heart that she misheard but the little boy is walking fast towards them, followed by a woman.

'Marian?' Robin says leaving Regina's hands to take a step closer to his son and that woman.

Regina turns fast toward him and her heart slowly breaks realizing that it's all true. Regina remembers Robin's words in front of the fireplace that morning. She died long time ago and he blamed himself for her death. But Robin's first wife, Roland's mother, is back. More alive than ever. Regina's hands are empty now and, deep down, she know that it's only the beginning.

That woman wraps her arms around Robin's shoulder, hugging him tight. Robin is keeping her very close. 'I thought you were dead! How this is even possible?' He asks, breaking the hug to look at her.

 _I wonder the same thing._ Regina thinks.

'A.. A blonde woman and a man with.. with a hook brought me here. I just wanted to go back to my family.'

 _Emma and Hook. Of course! They must've gone through the portal and brought her along. That woman never stops messing with my life._

'And you did, mommy.' Roland says catching his mother's attention. The woman takes the little boy in her arms, holding him. When she turns to look at Robin, she notices Regina is still standing there.

'Regina!' Emma says reaching them. Henry and Killian follow her.

'What have you done?' Regina asks trying to calm herself down. Mixed emotions are taking control of her. Disappointment, confusion, sadness, anger. She wants answers. She needs to understand how the hell it happened but, at the same time, she doesn't because she knows it'd hurt her even more.

'I saved her. That woman was going to die for something she didn't do.'

'And you simply decided to take her here.' Regina says with a tone full of anger. 'You're exactly your mother's daughter. Never thinking of consequences.'

'Regina, we can fix this..'

'W – What is she doing here?' The woman asks pointing to Regina.

'Marian, don't worry. She's not the same pers-'

'I know exactly who she is!' Marian raises her voice, without giving Robin the chance to end his sentence. She lets her son down. 'She's the Evil Queen!'

'Not anymore!' Henry says standing beside his mother to defend her.

'She's not at all who you think..' Robin takes a step closer to Regina, stretching his arm toward her. 'Things have changed.'

'She tortured me. She murdered entire villages and inflicted so much pain. H – how can you guys even defend her?' Marian hesitates for a moment, trying to solve the missing pieces of the puzzle. 'Wait.. are.. are you two together?'

Regina hates the fact that her son, Henry, has to witness and listen to those words. She's been a terrible and awful person, but she tried so hard to be a better person. For him. If she found a way to put aside her revenge, it's mostly because her son. She owns him so much.

'Marian, we need to talk about this.'

'What did you do to him?' Marian asks Regina, completely ignoring Robin's words.

'Excuse me?'

'What did you do to make him falling at your feet? Did you cast a spell on him or did you take his heart?' Marian's words feel like a blade into Regina's chest. 'Because I can't believe that my husband, the Robin I know, fell for someone like you. So evil and ruthless.'

'Look..' Regina tries to talk, controlling her anger.

'NO! There's no other explanation. Nobody could ever, ever love you!' Marian holds Roland's hand and pulls him behind her. 'I don't want you anywhere near my son ever again.'

Regina's instinct to burn the woman with a fireball is pulsing all over her body. She's fighting the urge to turn her to ashes right in front of everyone. Taking a very deep breath, Regina closes her hand. Keeping all that anger inside, she can't prevent the tears to fill her brown eyes. The last thing she wants is to start crying in front of them, so she takes few steps back.

'Regina?'

'Robin, d – don't..' The sound of her voice is broken.

'Mum.. wait..' Henry says getting closer.

Regina shocks her head. 'I'm sorry, Henry.' She turns and walks away fast. She can't stay there one minute more. It's too painful. She hears Emma calling her son to stop him from following her. Regina feels sorry for Henry but she really needs to be left alone. Nobody could help her right now, sadly not even her beloved son. She understands the fact that Emma was just trying to save that woman's life but Robin's ex-wife? What were the odds? She ashamedly killed so many people in the past, and Emma saved the only one who can destroy her future. Her happiness. Forever.

Regina slams the front door of her house, wishing it'd keep her problems outside as well. She leans her back against the white door, lowering her head. Few unstoppable tears drop down her cheeks. Raising her hand to wipe them away, she sees it. The ring.

 _Not again._

Regina sobs loudly as she lets more tears rolling down. What's the point of trying to keep them inside when all she wants to do is cry? Without breaking the physical contact with the cold door, Regina lets herself go, sitting on the floor. The image of the ring on her finger is highly blurred due to the multiple tears, but it's there. Robin really proposed and only few minutes later that happiness has been ripped away from her. Again.

It all feels like a terrible déjà vu to Regina. Once again she finds herself alone, in tears, with an engagement ring on her finger. When she asked Daniel to merry her, it was only the first solution she thought to escape her engagement with King Leopold. Being Queen meant nothing to her, she just wanted to be happy with him. He took a ring from his favorite black saddle and put on her finger, pretending it was a real ring. She didn't need a diamond, love was the only thing that matter to her. And now, with a proper engagement ring on her finger, she can't help but think of what that woman said.

 _Nobody could ever, ever love you._

But Robin does. She's sure of it. He said it clearly. And she feels the same for him, even if she is too scared to admit it. Regina can't believe that, once again, she's felt the brunt of heroism. Despite the fact that she stopped Zelena from changing the past by using light magic, she's still considered a villain, because villains don't get their happy endings.

Looking at the ring she knows she should take it off, Robin doesn't belong to her. Not anymore. And yet, she doesn't have the courage to do it. Take it off would mean that everything they had simply disappears, but keep it, it's like living a lie. Robin has his family back together after so many years apart and Roland deserves to be with his mother.

Without making a decision yet, Regina hides her face between her legs. Wondering either if she has to accept the idea that her happy ending with Robin is just a dream that will never become true or she should have some hope. Tears keep falling down her face, one by one. Her heart aches badly, remembering Robin's words.

 _I want to start a new path.. together, this time._

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Sooooo? What do you think?

I guess you're wondering how is that possible that Robin proposed to Regina so "quickly".. well, I'm gonna write many flashbacks from the Missing Year in this story, showing what I think it could've happened between them back then.

I really hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please, let me know by reviewing it!

Lots of love,

Daisy


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